Mayor: $130M to revamp NYC jails for mentally ill

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Mayor: $130M to revamp NYC jails for mentally ill
By JAKE PEARSON, Associated Press | December 2, 2014 | Updated: December 2, 2014 12:54pm

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York City mayor wants to spend $130 million over four years to overhaul how the nation's most populous city deals with mentally ill and drug-addicted suspects, diverting many to treatment instead of the city's troubled Rikers Island jail complex.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's plans, announced Tuesday, are based on the recommendations of a task force he appointed following a series of reports by The Associated Press detailing problems at Rikers, including the deaths of two inmates suffering from serious mental illness.

The reforms are aimed largely at inmates with mental health or substance abuse problems who repeatedly end up in jail on minor offenses because there is nowhere else for them to go.

The changes, which do not require city council approval, include offering stepped-up training for police to identify such suspects, using drop-off treatment centers for low-level offenders and allowing more leeway for judges to order supervised release and treatment instead of jail. They draw on reforms already tried in Seattle, Washington D.C., and Louisville, Kentucky.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Mayor-130M-to-revamp-NYC-jails-for-mentally-ill-5928808.php

[TDale313]

1. It sounds like it could be a good plan.

I will admit, though, the first place my mind went is Arkham Asylum. I know, I'm horrible. Flame away.

[cstanleytech]

2. A decent first step imo. nt

[jwirr]

3. This is a better idea than put them in the mainstream. With luck they would have separate areas

to live in, people who are trained to dispense dedications and care and more understanding. It will still have the problems of any institution but be better than the bully system in a lot of prisons.